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Type: Articles
Published: 2011-01-12
Page range: 1–25
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Descriptions of five new species in the genus Metriaclima (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malaŵi, Africa

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD, 21250, USA
Cichlid Press, El Paso, TX, 79913, USA
School of Forest Resources, The Pennsylvania University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Fish Cichlids Lake Malaŵi Metriaclima

Abstract

Five new species of rock-dwelling cichlids from Lake Malaŵi are described. All five species phenotypically resemble Metriaclima aurora based on the absence of a black band in the dorsal fin and occupying the rock-sand interface of the lake. Differences in overall shape, meristics, and coloration distinguish these new species from each other and from previously described species within this group. The new species Metriaclima glaucos, M. mossambicus, M. nkhunguensis, and M. xanthos originate from the Mozambique coast of the lake, while M. sciasma is restricted to Tanzanian waters.

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